In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country’s annual growth should be no less than 6.5 percent over the next five years to meet the goal of achieving a “moderately prosperous” society. Beijing also targeted doubling its 2010 gross domestic product and per capita income by 2020.

After years of negotiations between Beijing and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Chinese yuan has been included in the IMF’s basket of currencies. Beijing had to initiate a raft of reforms to meet the fund’s requirements of a more open economy.